INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- In more ways than one, the Detroit
Pistons showed the Indiana Pacers how tough they are.

Corliss Williamson scored 23 points and pegged the ball at
Jermaine O'Neal as the Pistons overpowered the Pacers, 96-77,
for their sixth win in seven games.

The surprising Pistons (42-28) have taken control of the
Central Division with a team of mostly role players who hustle,
rebound, play tough defense and are not afraid to mix it up a
little bit.

Bursts by Detroit of 16-2 in the third quarter and 13-0 in the
fourth quarter already had decided the outcome when Williamson
drove the left baseline with 1:16 to go. As he went up for a
layup, he was given a flying body block by O'Neal.

Williamson fired the ball at O'Neal from about five feet away,
hitting him solidly before chaos ensued. Wallace stepped
between them and O'Neal shoved him. Wallace had to be
restrained before O'Neal took a swing at Pistons forward
Michael Curry.

"I don't know his reason for that kind of foul," said
Williamson, who slyly added, "My reaction to it was the ball
slipped out of my hands."

The Pistons were not happy about the shot O'Neal took at
Williamson.

"We do not play dirty," Pistons coach Rick Carlisle said. "We
do not throw cheap shots and I did not see us throw any
tonight. I can't speak for O'Neal, but that was one of the
worst cheap shots I've ever seen. O'Neal seemed to calm down
when Wallace stepped in his face."

Williamson and O'Neal both were ejected and O'Neal faces a
possible suspension for his actions toward Curry. That is not
good news for the Pacers (35-35), who are just 2 1/2 games
ahead of Washington for the final playoff berth in the Eastern
Conference.

"They do a lot of talking for a .500 team," Stackhouse said.

Indiana dealt swingman Jalen Rose at the trading deadline to
add toughness. With Isiah Thomas as coach, many people were
likening them to Thomas' "Bad Boys" Pistons squads of the laet
1980s and early 1990s. But the Pacers were pushed around by
the tougher team.

"This team is not in a very good place," Pacers guard Reggie
Miller said. "Mentally, we think things are going to be given
to us."

"Our team is like a family," Williamson said. "If you pick on
one of us, you pick on all of us. We're always there to pick
each other up."

Chucky Atkins scored 18 points and Wallace had 14 rebounds and
four blocks for the Pistons, who opened a 4 1/2-game lead on
Milwaukee atop the Central Division. Detroit has not won a
division title since 1990, when it won its second of
consecutive NBA titles.

"It was nice to come in here and get the victory," Atkins said.
"If people do not respect us or have their eyes closed, that's
on them. We can't control that."

Atkins made three 3-pointers in 69 seconds, starting a run that
turned a one-point edge into a 67-52 advantage with 3:03
remaining.

The Pacers closed the quarter with an 8-1 surge, and two
jumpers by Ron Mercer opened the final period and cut the
deficit to 68-64 with 10:05 left. The Pistons called a timeout
and returned to the court with a vengeance.

Williamson made two free throws and Jon Barry a jumper before
throwing a blind pass directly over his head to a trailing
Curry, who dunked for a 74-64 lead. Barry drilled a long
3-pointer and Williamson scored twice inside, making it 81-64
with 7:03 to go.

"We feel real confident with the way we're playing," Williamson
said.

The Pistons shot 47 percent (34-of-73) from the field,
including 9-of-17 from the arc, and committed just 11 turnovers
as they won without big games from leading scorers Stackhouse
and Cliff Robinson. Stackhouse scored 12 points and Robinson
13 as the duo combined to make just 9-of-31 shots.